Question

which techniques did the british apply in order to make indian farmers cultivate opium?explain

Answer 1

The unwilling cultivators were made to produce opium through a system of advances. Peasants never had enough to survive. Their village headman gave them advances to produce opium. The loan tied the peasants to the headman and through him to the government. Government agents were appointed to advance to the village headman who used to forward these to the farmers. By taking the loan, the cultivator was forced to grow opium on a specified area of land and hand over the produce to the agents once the crops had been harvested. He had no option of planting the field with a crop of his choice or of selling his produce to anyone but the government agent.